Indystar had a more in-depth article on this. The widow showed the plans quite some time ago and was told they would not allow it in the church cemetary. She had it made anyway. Also, there are actually 2 headstones that form the armrests for a bench in the middle. Yeah, it's shaped like a sofa with NASCAR and NFL logos on it. I'm not particularly formal and not religious at all, but I can see how a church might not want their 100yo cemetary all rednecked out.

If you're ever stuck in Buffalo and looking for something to do, the Forest Lawn Cemetery is worth a visit. Up until the Great Depression, there was a shiat-ton of money in Buffalo, so there are quite a few fancy mausoleums including one by Frank Lloyd Wright, although that one isn't among the most interesting. One of them has a granite sofa and arm chair in front of it for some damned reason. Maybe the deceased was a furniture magnate. Anyway, they're sculpted to look all squooshy and comfy, inviting you to flop down on them and lounge for a while except that they're cold, hard GRANITE.

At least they're tastefully unadorned.

I saw a gravestone for a recently deceased young man in a rural graveyard in New Zealand that had a granite bottle of Jim Beam and a granite bottle of Speight's beer on it. Death by drowning. Presumably alcohol was involved.

Just saw this one on Facebook. Eaten by mountain rats sounds like a painful way to go.

In 1876, Signal Station attendant Private John O'Keefe, told tall tales of life in the station to lawyer, newspaper man and drinking buddy, Eliphat Price. O'Keefe recounted a story of large, man-eating rats that lived in caves on Pikes Peak. The story then grew to include how these rats attacked him and his wife and daughter in the station itself - devouring a side of beef in less than five minutes. While Private O'Keefe tried to protect his family using a club to fend off the rats, it was actually Mrs. O'Keefe who saved the day by electrocuting the rats with a coil of wire connected to the signal station's battery. According to the story though, her efforts were too late. Before she could connect the wire to the battery terminals, hundreds of these killer rats had already devoured Erin, the O'Keefe's only daughter.

O'Keefe quickly erected a fake grave on the summit to support his story and, more likely, to woo tourists. However, there were only two problems with the story - O'Keefe wasn't married and he didn't have a daughter. Despite these obvious clues, the story hit the wires and ended up being published in many newspapers around the globe. (Rumor has it that Erin was actually O'Keefe's mule that had recently died.)

ruta:I saw a gravestone for a recently deceased young man in a rural graveyard in New Zealand that had a granite bottle of Jim Beam and a granite bottle of Speight's beer on it. Death by drowning. Presumably alcohol was involved.

Do a GIS for "Barre Cemetery". Barre, Vermont is home to renowned granite quarries and generations of Italian craftsmen. Natch, some of them make their own grave markers. Some are works of art; some, ah, well, have a look.